This morning, I watched some videos about wetting out fiberglass on plywood hulls. Here they are, in case you, too, need inspiration and encouragement:

Jenkins Boat Works video glassing a CLC Chesapeake 18

Nick Schade’s video glassing a Guillemot Petrel

OffCenterHarbor’s video includes tips on the tips.

I trimmed the fiberglass to leave only an inch or two hanging below the sheer clamps of the inverted hull and smoothed the glass one more time. I set the resin outside to warm on a nearly 80 degree day (it’s 65 in the shop).

At about 3:30, I started pouring epoxy over the glass. I tried (1) dumping it out and using the squeegee; (2) dumping it out and using the foam roller; and (3) filling an ad hoc paint tray and using the foam roller. The third option seemed by far the best. It takes a remarkably light load in the roller to penetrate the glass and begin wetting it out.

I mixed five (?) batches of about 100-120 grams of resin and appropriate hardener. I discovered the meaning of “on the bias” and a half-assed appreciation for “darts.” More about that later.

At 5:00, I stepped away and cleaned up. Maybe I’ll get a second coat down late tonight. I’ll need at least two more, plus some fill and sand for the bow and stern where I had to get creative to make sure the wood was well wrapped.

At 10:00, I applied a second coat. It took half as long as the first coat and used less than half as much epoxy. More about all that in tomorrow’s news, after I see how it turned out.